The Russian president spoke on television to everyone’s surprise and called on Ukrainian soldiers “to lay down their arms”.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Thursday, February 24 at dawn a “military operation” in Ukraine and several explosions sounded in the east of the country, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister claiming that a “large-scale invasion” was in progress.
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“We will strive to achieve demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine”said the Russian autocrat. “We do not have in our plans an occupation of Ukrainian territories, we do not intend to impose anything by force on anyone”he assured, calling on the Ukrainian military “to lay down arms”.
Shortly after Vladimir Putin’s surprise statement on television that he wanted to defend the pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country, several powerful explosions were heard in Kiev, in Kramatorsk, a city in the east that serves as the headquarters to the Ukrainian army, to Kharkiv, the country’s second city, and to Odessa, on the Black Sea.
US President Joe Biden has denounced a “unwarranted attack”. “The world will hold Russia to account”, he promised. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg condemned a “reckless and unprovoked attack” by Russia. And at the UN, Ukraine asked Russia to “put an end to the war”while France denounced the “contempt” of Russia towards the United Nations.